Great presentations are stories. They may use pictures, graphics or charts as illustrations. But the words that come from the speaker’s mouth tell the story. A better tool for creating a presentation then might be a text editor like MS Word.

Storytelling - it seems to be one of the hottest buzz words today. Everyone is saying that you must know how to be a good storyteller - but does anyone really know what that means?

Storytelling is the difference between rambling off data and giving it meaning. When we read a good book, we basically devour it - we feel swept into the story, time and space falls away - and it's sad to end it because it's like we're saying goodbye to a good friend. We don't look for 100% historical accuracy, technical data or facts and figures - we just give ourselves over to the experience So how do we take this into our writing, speeches and presentations? Whether you're selling a product, service, startup or even yourself, here are some storytelling tips that anyone can use."

Read the full article to find out why these storytelling tips work and how to use them:

"Not only are they [stories] indispensable tools for novelists, they are useful for presenters, business leaders, marketers, and journalists. They can come in all forms, from slide decks and infographics to videos and static images.

Based on some of my findings of what makes a story captivating, along with advice given by leading experts, here are several ways you can make your next presentation one your audience will never forget."

Read the full article to find out more about these seven storytelling techniques and to see TED talks that exemplify them:

"Between them, Dave Isay, TED Prize winner and founder of StoryCorps, and Brandon Stanton, founder of Humans of New York, have collected more than 75,000 stories from regular people around the world. Isay collects his stories as audio files, while Stanton takes a photo and then interviews his subject — but they’ve both developed fascinating techniques for helping people to open up. They sat down recently to talk about their work and their thoughts on what makes for an honest, open interview environment."

Read the full article to find out more about these tips to draw out stories from your interviewee:

E"ngage deeply. Interrupt kindly. People aren’t very good at knowing how to tell their own stories, says Stanton, and that means that they’re often vague and imprecise. Cutting through that is part of the interviewer’s job."

"The very epic nature of The Hero’s Journey makes it problematic for most for us as marketers. Relying on this type of story assumes we have the full attention of our audience as well as the content to make it work.

What if you don’t actually have a strong enough story with all the twists and turns of the Hero’s Journey? Your story falls flat and ends up trying too damn hard.

There are so many ways to tell stories in your business, but if you’re going to use the Hero’s Journey, deconstruct it so you’re not telling an epic story, but a much more bite-sized one. Every one of the 12 steps of The Hero’s Journey could give you the jumping off point for stories to share in your business."

Read the full article to find out more about these four examples of how to turn the traditional journey into one related to your business or yourself:

Ordinary World

Call to Adventure

Meeting with the Mentor

Return with Elixir

Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:

The Hero's Journey for business storytelling can be all wrong. It's too epic. Too long. And it assumes your audience cares. I like how this article addresses telling your story in bite-sized bits.

"When we think about bringing interactive fiction into the classroom we often focus on the technology. I’ve written here about using accessible tools such as Twine, Twine 2.0, Inform 7, and Inklewriter to create everything from games to interactive essays and digital humanities projects. Bringing in software of this type can be a great way to transform an assignment and add procedural literacy outcomes to a range of disciplines. However, before we get into the technology, we need an idea."

Read the full article to find out more about these exercises that provide playful starting points to making interactive narratives:

Learn how to tell stories that will captivate even the most challenging audiences by reading the blog post that gives the complete behind-the-scenes story about this presentation: http://buff.ly/1B8ehRa

View the presentation to find out more about these 3 steps tpo a good story:

"Ensure that your story stands out from the crowd. Start your story with a gripping complication, continue with a middle woven together with “therefore” and “but,” and conclude your story with a moment of transformation. Also, remember that product pitches, or funding announcements, are not stories; they’re self-promotional memos. To find a story worth telling, you need to dig deep to uncover moments of transformation. You can do it. Go find your story." ~ Ethos3 blog post

Today’s audience is hungry for content, but individuals are following their own customized path of consumption. While some may be starving for a hearty research report, others prefer their information intake broken down into bite-sized nuggets. By offering a diverse menu of content types, you will be better positioned to feed your audience’s wide-ranging appetites.

Read the full article to find out more about considering the four basic “food groups” of content creation to get you to your menu of 77 storytelling content types:

Share Wisdom through WORDS

Paint a Picture Using STATIC IMAGES

Create Impact with DYNAMIC MULTIMEDIA

Invite Participation via INTERACTION

Building a Diverse Menu (snacks, starters, entrees, desserts)

Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:

Check out the companion SlideShare found at the bottom of the article to see how the final menu comes together. Nicely done!

|Thanks in great part to social networks, new traditions of storytelling for business/brands have evolved from what "THEY" the businesses, want people to know, to the stories that people care about. This shift has meant that businesses have had to learn (often times the hard way) that marketed information is not really communication, least of all a story worthy of inspiring engagement or conversation with others.

I've worked with brands for over twenty years. Admittedly, I have crafted my fair share of "traditional" stories for my clients. Over time though, I've come to recognize that certain kinds of stories are more successful than others in bringing business and people closer together. These stories succeed because of their ability to produce greater emotional and social engagement, and thereby story-sharing with others."

Read the full article to find out more about these seven strategies for how to evolve beyond mere information to a more human-centric approach to storytelling:

FROM Focus on Size and Stats TO the People Within

FROM Mass Media Push TO Building Engaging Relationships

FROM Demographics TO Understanding People & Communities

FROM Closed Culture TO Collaborative Social Business

FROM Leadership Authority and Title TO Leadership Vision and Influence

"They simply started telling stories. And believe me there are many stories out there, which you can tell just as well and people will like to read your stories. To help you come up with some ideas and start out with your own storytelling, here are some examples of what kind of stories you could tell (and what stories other people tell).

Keep in mind, the stories, which will work best for you depend on what situation you are in, what audience you want to attract and what you want to achieve with your stories. And also keep in mind, the best stories which YOU can tell have your personality in them – so, do not be afraid to show it."

Read the full article to find out more about these examples of stories you could tell:

Tell how you solved problems other people might have too

Give your opinion on some current “hot topics” in your area of interest

Relate how you built (or are building) your business

Give your clients a voice

Give your employees a voice

Tell how you tested different solutions for a problem and why you chose the one you chose

"Storytelling is the art of convincing your target audience to empty their pockets for your products and services without actually giving them a sales pitch. What replaces the sales pitch in this campaign is a fairy tale that revolves around their lives and features your products every now and then showcasing how ‘useful’ they are.

Great stories always begin with a hook, making a promise to the reader that reading it is going to be worth their time (and money). The first and foremost thing to do post setting the hook, is to make your customer the hero of the story!

Then you can walk in all the elves and miscellaneous fancies to keep him hooked; no matter which character you use, ensure that is relatable to the reader and not you.

No matter how long your story is, the one thing that will keep your readers going is the crown prize that is being promised or suggested through the tale. The next step is to just make sure your story has a happy ending that is in sync with what has been filled in by your audience previously via feedbacks, polls and other interactions.

Remember, everyone loves a happily ever after!"

Read the full article to find out more about these tips to keep in mind when you tell your own fairy tale:

Don’t be Cruella — just quit the show off!

Don’t run on Cinderella’s time — make it last!

Don’t be a bore — what if the shoe never got lost?

Don’t go haywire — stick to a theme!

Don’t add to their grief — make it a happy ending!

Don’t make the ending a definite one — keep them wanting more!

Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:

There's some good references and visuals in the article - Pixar's 22 rules, the hero's journey, and storytelling TED style.

"Welcome to storytelling parties. Here is a place where those of us who appreciate the art of storytelling come to mingle, share storytelling ideas and techniques, find storytelling inspiration, learn about the history of storytelling, and discover storytelling festivals."

Hold your own storytelling party. Access the website to get to their blog and find out more about how to:

I originally curated this article and website many moons ago. When I went to find it today in this curation -- it was gone! I don't know what happened, but I found it again anyway.

What I really like about this post is that it goes beyond "pick a card and tell a story" kind of party game. For a great storytelling party, it's all about picking the theme (yes, down to the food and drink!), and then sparking stories in others.

This what a terrific way this could be to gather customer or staff stories. Or stories from conference participants. There are lots of ideas here.

This article/website tells you exactly how to do have a storytelling party. Yah! More fun to have with storytelling! This could be great for event planners, corporate get-togethers/retreats, and anyone who wants an excuse to party :))

While technology has given us all global reach with our messages, it's still the ancient bewitchery of storytelling that connects us with one another. The Business of Story podcast's goal is to help you craft and tell compelling stories that sell – online and off. You will learn from some of the brightest content creators, advertising creatives, authors, professors, makers, marketers, and brand raconteurs in the business. Host Park Howell promises that within every show you will learn at least one actionable tip that will make your stories more engaging, and help you advance your personal or professional quest further, faster.

A new show will be released every two weeks. Guests to the show’s website, TheBusinessofStory.com, will find a number of storytelling tools, including an interactive 10-step story cycle PDF, an e-book that explains the story cycle process and a worksheet that guides communications professionals in using the story cycle to craft a brand strategy. Additional tools will be added with the advent of newly released episodes.

Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:

I've listened to all the episodes of this new podcast series - and have enjoyed them all. You can access podcasts and resources a few different ways:

"Advertising executive Park Howell, founder and president of Park&Co, has partnered with digital and social marketing expert Jay Baer, founder and president of Convince & Convert, to create a podcast that showcases the power of storytelling for business. “The Business of Story” will explore a pragmatic approach to storytelling and how marketing and communications professionals can use universal story structure to better connect with customers and move people to action."

"Businesses are using storytelling as a way to improve their core messaging, branding, and marketing.

This essay will look at some of the core truths about stories and storytelling in Part I (common storytelling principles that apply to business & life, tips #1-7), and then I'll share a few tools that are practical and easy to implement in Part II (how to improve your business & personal storytelling today, tips #8-11). Use these core principles across many communication needs, from a personal biography to the description of your company."

Read the full article to find out more about these 11 storytelling tips:

Everyone is a storyteller.

We tell stories to connect, dream, and imagine.

Stories are how we are hardwired.

A story is what you take with you.

We are surrounded by far too many examples of bad storytelling — powerpoints, inadequacy marketing, and droll presentations have numbed our innate ability to tell stories.

When you sell anything — yourself, a brand, a business — you tell a story.

We are naturally curious, and we all want to be smart.

Your English teacher was right — it is about "showing" versus "telling."

Detail, detail, detail. The environment matters — because it lays the foundation for imagination.

Introduce conflict — by using the "bait" method.

Shorter is often better. Keep it simple!

Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:

We can recognize when we're captivated by a great story. The problem is dissecting what's happening into tools you can use to your advantage later. These 11 tips help you do that.

Be sure to check out the end of the article for a few ways to practice these techniques.

"Have you wondered how to shoot a hospital video story that moves your audience to tears? Or how to write a CEO speech that will earn a standing ovation?

Nasdaq Corporate Solutions and Ragan Communications are offering a free guide—Strategic Storytelling—full of tips for telling your organization's story though a wide range channels, from newsletters to videos."

Read the full article to obtain the link to this free guide featuring advice and case studies from corporations such as Intel, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and American Express Open Forum. This 24 page guide covers:

The three elements of a story

How to find stories within your company

Starting your story: the anecdotal lede

How to bring your story to life with video

How to write memorable speeches & intriguing op-eds

How to write compelling press releases

Storytelling using brand journalism

How to get emotional with images

How to educate and entertain with infographics

Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:

Your company isn’t just an organization. It is a story. There are narratives to be found in its history, employees, and

customers. You can present your story in white papers, videos, blogs, speeches, op-eds, websites, and even pressreleases. Use this nicely laid out guide, full of examples and links to additional information, to help you understand the why's and how's of organizational storytelling. And how to be strategic about it.

"Like many of you, I have sat in marketing meetings with internal stakeholders and heard from the team they need more datasheets or other “needed marketing assets.” From my perspective, “a datasheet with more people photos that allegedly look like your customer” isn’t going to make the difference. The issue is not the datasheet itself, but that the datasheet doesn’t paint the picture for the prospect of what she can expect from your product or service. In fact, Forrester reported that 70 percent of the content B2B buyers read and study before making a purchase decision is actually found by themselves; as opposed to being given to them by marketing or sales. You need to tell a consistent story as to why prospective customers should buy from you."

Read the full article to find out more about these storytelling tips to to create a consistent structure:

Setting: Where Your Story Takes Place

Characters: Make Your Brand More Human

An Event To Start Things Rolling: Let Clients Be The Lead In Your Storytelling

"Elon Musk and Steve Jobs are both known for their seemingly mystical power to distort reality. What gives them this ability isn’t a quirk of a charismatic leader; it’s a learnable skill called storytelling.

The better at storytelling someone is, the more that readers and listeners are transported to a whole new world. According to studies conducted on this transportation phenomenon, great stories alter beliefs, result in the loss of access to real-world facts, evoke emotions, and significantly reduce ability to detect inaccuracies. To understand this phenomenon, you don’t need to look any further than your own personal experience desperately rooting for an immortal, time-traveling mutant in X-Men or another equally impossible character and plot from your favorite movie."

Read the full article to find out more about how 11 top online storytellers, who collectively generate hundreds of millions of page views every month, craft stories:

Do you remember a moment when you were able to visualise, even almost taste or smell, the scenario of a story in a conversation?

Putting this art into practice (and doing it well) is exceptionally essential when it comes to telling your brand’s story using pictures. Instagram certainly is your best friend for this purpose because it is, after all, the new word-of-mouth marketing."

Read the full article to find out more about how to use these questions as a guide to incorporate storytelling on your Instagram platform:

"Writer's block is a crippling condition in which one's creative process slows down to the minimum. It's a symptom of 'creativity blockage' which hits writers. People differ in how they deal with their writer's block but one effective way we have at our hands is the use of technology."

Read the full article to obtain the links and find out more about these iPad apps that tackle writer's block by providing prompts and incentives to write creatively:

"Fairy tales help children to answer basic existential questions, like who am I, what is the good life, where do I belong? Through fairy tales they learn to navigate reality and survive in a world full of ambiguities and dangers.

Executives, with their seeming mastery of the world, may be an unlikely audience for such fantasy. But the universal truth is, everyone likes a story. And fairy tales, with their immediately recognisable dramatics, characters and fundamental moral truths provide universal insights into human behaviour, illustrating the dangers of leadership and various ways in which executives can derail."

Now here's an unusual piece that makes a lot of great points about the universal truths imbedded in fairy tales, and leadership wisdom.

The article is written by Manfred Kets de Vries of INSEAD. Here's one truth he shares:

"On a deeper level fairy tales can touch on humankind’s deepest fears and desires and be a source of inspiration. By identifying with characters in fairy tales, executives can come to better understand their own internal struggles and turn into more self-aware leaders."

There's more in his discussion of the fairy tale in the leader's journey (and it's not about the hero), and a section on the 5 Deadly Dangers of Leadership.

Indeed lessons for all in this. I like the 5 leadership dangers particularly the first one about self-knowledge. Everyone can be a leader. Key is being and being requires remarkable self-awareness. The reason most leadership development programs in business schools and organisations fail to produce remarkable leaders is because the focus is on doing more than being.

"Let us tell you a quick story. It starts out with a few of us Lexbloggers attending a #MozTalk in Seattle. While some of us were drawn to the promise of complimentary snacks and beer – all of us were struck by the title “Storytelling through Digital Marketing.”

The all-woman panel of Carrie Jones, Debra Music, Kandice Carlson, Misty Weaver and Erica McGillivray focused on how important storytelling is in today’s online world. Not only do you need to tell the story of your brand, but you need to be listening to the stories of your audience. Story telling is not a one way street – it never has been and especially in today’s online world, it’s all about the community of stories. This MozTalk was awesome because it reinforces what we believe to be true: blogging is storytelling."

Read the full article to find out more about these three main themes about storytelling in the digital age:

It’s nothing if it’s not authentic.

Developing a story is a two-way street.

Stories take time.

Kim Zinke (aka Gimli Goose)'s insight:

Each of the tips includes good questions to ask yourself to see if you're on track. This all means that you need to tell your story through your blog and share stories that resonate with your audience.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.